And suddenly I was seven years old again.
I was running, running as hard and as fast as I could. My bare feet slapped the ground as I raced through the darkness. I needed to escape, but from what, exactly?
It was close behind me, I could feel it. The thing made my heart crawl into my throat every inch it got closer. The beast was fast, faster than you would believe. Its scampering claws sounded like someone painfully dragging their nails across a chalkboard. The sound made me cringe every time it skidded around a tight corner.
I kept running, pumping my legs as hard as I could. Faster, I need to go faster.
I tried to think what I could possibly do to get out of this as the monster screamed from behind.
Curious, most monsters that I've met, besides when talking, would either roar or snarl or do whatever they do, right? This one screamed, and it unnerved me because it sounded nearly human, almost always like someone I knew.
This monster was just... different. Every monster I had ever encountered has had some sort of a conscience. I'm not saying that the conscience isn't a dark one, but they usually had at least some intelligence. After all, it's definitely not impossible to make a monster angry.
Well no, this monster, by any means, did not have a conscience. It was a seething storm of rage, with one purpose, and one purpose only: to make me bleed.
I was absolutely terrified.
My lungs felt like they were going to collapse by the time I ran into the dead end of the alley. I was hyperventilating, and my deep breaths echoed off the surrounding walls. I was cornered, but the thing kept coming with terrifying speed.
The thing scrambled closer, but all I could see was the shadowy silhouette of what could only truly be described as a monster. Long legs scraped against the ground, and its small, dark eyes looked at me hungrily. Still, I now knew what it was, which in a way, was something that all children of Athena feared.
My heart skipped a beat when I reached for my bronze knife that wasn't there.
The gap between us began to close as the monster crawled closer. My back was literally pressed up against the wall when I came to my bitter realization: there was nowhere left to go, and no way left to fight back.
Wait a moment, I thought, startled. No. I never think that way, I don't to give up. I refuse to die here. What kind of power does it take to mess with my mind like that? No matter how desperate or tragic the circumstances may be, never would I even consider-
Something inside me snapped.
My vision went blurry, and my legs gave out unexpectedly. I collapsed to the ground, sliding against the wall, ripping me from my thoughts. I felt the overwhelming desire to pull my knees close to my chest and press my tiny hands to my ears.
My mind was suddenly in utter hysterics, and my heart was hammering against my chest. I thought I could hear my erratic heartbeat echo against the walls that trapped me.
I'm going to die.
I couldn't quite think straight. Athena always had a plan, but then why could I only panic? I've held my own against monsters so twisted and gruesome that you would think to be impossible. Why was I so afraid of this thing? What was so different?
I'm going to die.
Oh gods, this was actually happening. Unfinished thoughts and words blurred with fear crashed around in my head. Where was… What happened to… running and running and… my knife… Percy… whywhywhy- And then one desperate thought boldly stood out from the rest.
I
am
going
to
die.
I clamped my eyes shut and waited in silent terror. The fear was overwhelming, paralyzing my tiny form. The thing just kept coming closer and closer and closer to the point where I could feel its hot, humid breaths clinging to the skin on the nape of my neck.
Something possessed me to pry open my eyelids, perhaps the childish, primitive fear of not knowing. It stronger than just curiosity. It was more like an intense hatred of not knowing.
And then I saw it.
I couldn't describe it to you exactly even if I wanted to. It was as if my mind didn't want to remember it, like it rejected the possibility that such a thing could even exist. However, I will never forget its eyes, the one thing I wish I could forget.
The world had stopped spinning.
They were dead, but still so very much alive. In a way, they were similar to windows. Through its eyes, I could see fear, pure and untainted fear. And it was hungry for more.
I don't know how long I sat there, staring into its soulless eyes, but at one point, it was just... gone. It's not like it got up and walked away or that it teleported or whatever, just that, I remember that it just suddenly wasn't there. As if it wasn't there in the first place.
In its place, a warm smile and outstretched hand. Luke was here, Thalia not far behind.
It's okay I'm okay I'll be okay now.
Luke gave me a warm hug, and I let him pull me to my feet. He led me out of the alley, my small hand in his.
After a few shaky steps on unsteady legs, I couldn't help but take note of something peculiar.
His hands were as cold as death.
"Luke?" My small voice cut through the silence. "Why are you so cold?"
He stopped abruptly and let go of my hand. Slowly, he turned around to face me, absolutely expressionless.
I couldn't really think straight at this point. My thoughts were completely scattered, a random collection of ideas that weren't quite finished yet. It was immensely disorienting, and I hated it.
That may have explained why Luke was pulling out my celestial bronze knife.
In the dim light, the long jagged scar marking his face made Luke look almost evil. And his eyes, oh gods, I swear his eyes were the eyes of a monster. Eyes of burning gold met my stormy gray ones.
Was this even Luke?
Without warning, he stepped towards me and plunged the knife deep into my stomach. Pain exploded across my midsection, leaving me stumbling and gasping for air. Blood spilled between my fingers as I attempted to grasp the knife logged in my stomach.
No, this was definitely not Luke. This was the other guy.
Then I realized that I was falling backwards, my unstable legs no longer able to hold my weight. Time slowed as gravity got its hold on me, pulling farther and farther down. My bloodstained were reaching out for help that would not come. I had just enough time to meet Luke's dead, expressionless gaze as he turned and walked away with a sickeningly familiar cold chuckle. I did not miss the blood still dripping from his pale fingers.
As the titan walked away, time resumed to its natural flow.
And so I fell, but I did not hit the ground. I frantically grasped empty handfuls of darkness, desperately seeking some sort of handhold. None came. So, I kept on
f
a
l
l
i
n
g
f
a
l
l
i
n
g
f
a
l
l
i
n
g
down the never ending darkness until I finally slammed into the ground.
Everything hurt. My head was pounding, the knife wound to my stomach was screaming in pain, and it was so incredibly hard to breathe. I think I may have broken a couple important somethings. I managed to somehow roll myself onto my back and pry open my eyes to assess my situation.
It was like drowning in a sea of shadows, way to dark to see much of anything. But still, the pace had a strange feel to it, something difficult to explain. It was familiar, but not in a good way.
Nothing felt right here, as if it was burning cold and freezing hot at the same time. You could practically smell the fear in the air.
Realization hit me like a sledgehammer.
I did not want to be here. I did not want to be here.
This, is a place that has no light and knows no sanity, a place so old and so dark that even the ever powerful gods had reason to be afraid. How did I know?
I had been there before, and it had been a very long fall.
TARTARUS.
I was out of bed and halfway to the Athena cabin the moment she started screaming, and was by her side within seconds.
I pushed through some of her blond haired siblings, and found her screaming and thrashing in her sleep, but she wouldn't wake up.
"Annabeth," I shook her by the shoulders. "Wake up."
She didn't.
I tried again, not even attempting to hide the desperation bleeding into my words. "Come on, Annabeth. It's okay, I'm here now. Wake up, please wake up."
She continued fighting the imaginary monsters.
I turned to her brother Malcolm, "Get help."
He nodded and ran off.
It wasn't long before Jason, Hazel, and various other campers arrived.
"Something is very wrong here," Jason muttered gravely. "The nightmares haven't ever been like this before."
I nodded. He was right. Living life as a demigod, you usually end up seeing some things you wish you hadn't. It's expected that you'll get a few nightmares. Once you wake up though, you okay for the most part. I mean, yeah, you'll probably be a bit shaken up, but not much else aside from that.
It proves to be a bit more difficult of a problem when the supposed person woken, like now for instance. I creates a new way of torture, not being able to help as you watch someone you love suffer...
And torture it was.
For hours, she was punching and kicking and yelling and crying. Annabeth screamed and sobbed until voice was so raw it hurt to listen to, and then some more. Something was hurting my beautiful Annabeth and I could do nothing to stop it.
I don't know how long I sat there, but it honestly felt like forever until the screaming stopped. Stuffy silence filled the room as everybody held their breath. Every second, every tick of time, felt like an infinity.
Without warning, Annabeth bolted straight up in her bed, eyes wide with terror. She rapidly scanned the room until her eyes settled on me.
"Percy," she whispered, reaching out with a trembling arm.
I carefully sat down next to her on the bed and held her close. She berried her face in my shirt and tried to calm down.
A few minutes later her breathing calmed to it's normal pace.
"Percy, I was going to die," Annabeth said. "I was going to die, and I was terrified."
Her words were stuttered and choked, no louder than a whisper. Nobody dared to make a sound.
"I couldn't think," she rambled on. "I don't really know why I'm so unsettled by this, but it scared me, a lot."
"Shhhh, Annabeth, it's okay. You're going to be okay now." Percy said.
She stared out into space. "Luke said that too," Annabeth said.
Shaking her head to focus, she continued, "A-And there was this, this voice. It kept saying these awful things, like it knew everything."
"What do you mean?" Hazel questioned.
"I mean, it knew about how you died," she explained. "About Frank's mother, and something about Leo running away, about Tartarus."
She raised her head and looked at me with her stormy gray eyes.
"It told me," she paused, "the seven of us are going to die."
And she cried the rest of the night.
...I know I'm not the best writer, but I'm trying, I promise.
So umm, yeah...
I hope you had fun reading, and... I guess I'll see you later.
*unsuspiciously asks if you have any questions, comments, advice, jokes, or wild accusations that you would want to possibly leave in the reviews*
-Aqua468 (2/8/15)